GCHS Class of 2014 donates $7,700 for scholarships

The Grove City High School Class of 2014 has left one final -- and long lasting -- gift to the school.

The senior class has donated about $7,700 for scholarships to the South-Western City Schools Educational Foundation. Each year for at least the next seven years, the foundation will award a $1,000 scholarship on behalf of the GCHS Class of 2014.

"Every senior class donates the money they've raised over their four years to various causes," 2014 Class President Mason Warner said.

"Our class has donated money to the Central Ohio Alzhiemer's Association and we also wanted to do something that would have a lasting impact" on Grove City High School.

The scholarships will be awarded to a GCHS senior who has demonstrated the characteristics of leadership, Warner said.

"We felt it was important to have the scholarship recognize students for their leadership and not just athletic or academic achievement," he said.

The donation from the senior class "is a great example of paying it forward," Educational Foundation Chairman Roby Schottke said.

"It's a very special gift from the class," he said. "I believe this is the first time a senior class has made a gift to the foundation."

Providing scholarships is one of the core missions of the foundation, which also awards educational grants to district teachers and schools each fall, Schottke said.

The senior class intends to continue the scholarship after the initial gift is exhausted, said Warner, who will be attending the University of Oklahoma in August and is planning to double-major in psychology and business.

"Our plan is when we return for our reunion every five years to have our class make more donations so that the scholarship can hopefully be an ongoing legacy to our school," he said.

That type of commitment to a scholarship designed to recognize leadership is itself a demonstration of leadership, Schottke said.